The Bulgarian Property Buying Process in Brief

If you are interested in purchasing a home overseas in Bulgaria and have already picked out a place that you want to get you should first learn about the home buying process in the country. In Bulgaria the process for buying a home is very different than buying a home in Western Europe or the United States. In fact, you may not have experienced a process like it before. While it may be new and different to you it is a relatively straightforward process. The first thing you should do if you have found a home abroad in Bulgaria that you are interested in purchasing is to find a local lawyer. It is important to find someone that has past experience in property sales, and it is even better if you can find someone that has worked with other expatriates. Try asking around for references.

You will need to agree on a selling price of the property with the owner of the home. Once that happens you have two things that you will need to do in order to take ownership of the home. You will need to get a preliminary contract and sign it as well as pay a deposit. Then you will need to sign the notary act and make your final payment to claim ownership of the home.

Since 2012 it is no longer necessary to have a limited company in Bulgaria to purchase land. Up until 2012 all EU citizens wanting to purchase land, with or without property would have to own a Bulgarian limited company in order to do so. This was not however the case for apartment buyers without gardens.

Your lawyer should make sure that your preliminary contract is drawn up properly. The contract will vary depending upon what type of property that you are buying.

The final step is signing the notary act, which is also called the notary deed or the purchase contract. Basically this document is the title deed to the property. This has to be signed in the presence of a notary public. You will also need to pay the final payment. It is best if you have a Bulgarian bank account that you can do a transfer from to the owner's account.

At this point you should now be the owner of your Bulgarian property. All keys, documents should now have been handed over to you. Most good Bulgarian estate agents will check that all bills have been settled by the seller prior to signing the notary deed. This will mainly include utility bills such as water, electricity, muinicipality property tax, phone, internet and television viewing contracts.